Machine for printing on cylindrical glassware



March 24, 1942. L. MARZOCCHI v 2,277,597

MACHINE FOR PRINTING 0N CYLINDRICAL GLASSWARE Filed Dec. 26, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 N Q N Q N N a li N O I N a m O\ Q March 24, 1942. 1.. MARzoccI-n 2,277,597

MACHINE FOR PRINTING 0N CYLINDRIGAL GLASSWARE I Filed .Dec. 26, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Luigi Marzocchp,

March 24, 1942. L. MARzoccm 2,2 7, 7 MACHINE FOR PRINTING ON CYLINDRICAL GLASSWARE Filed Dec. 26, 1959 s sheets-sheet s I h r V MACHINE FOR PRINTING 0N CYLINDRICAL GLAsswA ki";'j 4

Filed Dec. 26, 1939 S sheds-sheet 4 March 24, 1942.

L. MARZOCCHI MACHINE FOR PRINTING ON CYLINDRICALIGLASSWARE Filed Dec. 26, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 z; Narzoccfq,

ri'ient d Mar. '24, 1942 MACHINE FOR PRINTING N. CYLINDRICAL GLASSWARE' Luigi Marzocchi, Milan, Italy Application December 2 1939, Serial No. 311,019

The present application is a continuation in part of applicant's copending application Serial No. 271,608, filed May 3, 1939, and relates to a machine for printing on cylindrical glass vials.

More specifically the invention pertains to mechanism for feeding glass vials or ampoules tothe printing roll, operating the printing mechanism in timed relation to the feeding means, and

flnally conveying the glassware away from the printing roll.

One of the objects of the invention is to feed and position th glassware accurately with re-.

spect to the roll, the feeding and passage of the ware being intermittent.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for urging the ware into engagement with the printing roll, said means being designed to obviate smearing and permit transfer of the printed design to a maximum surface of the ware.

A further object of the invention is to pro- .vide movabl trays in which the ware is deposlowing description of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings of a preferred form of the invention in which- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation, partly in section, of the feeding, printing and conveying mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line '4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the conveyor, certain parts thereof being shown in section as indicated by the section line 5-5;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of one of the trays employed in connection with the con- Fig, 7 is a fragmentary frontelevation, partly in section, of the feeding device and a platen for urging the ware into engagement with the printing roll;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the platen and its actuating arm;

Fig. 9 is a section taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 10 is a section of the means for convey.- ing the trays taken on line ||l-||l of Fi 5;

Fig. 11 is a transverse section taken through the platen, the same being shown in engaging relation with aglm. vial;

Fig. 12 is a'section taken on line |2--|2 of Fig. 5; v

Figs. 13 and 14 are transverse and longitudinal sections respectively of one. means for adjusting the ink transfer rolls.

In the drawings it will be seen that the printing mechanism and conveyor-are mounted on a suitable base or frame which also supports an electric motor 2|. Fast on shaft 22 is a pulley or sprocket 23 connected to motor 2| by a belt or chain 24. Worm 25 on shaft 22 drives worm wheel 25' fast on shaft 26. Also secured to shaft 26 are cams 21, 28, 29, and gear 3|, the purpose of which will be explained hereinafter.

The printing mechanism consists of a pair of ink reservoirs 32, 33, movable transfer rolls otherwise fixed 34, 35, 36, 31, fixed transfer rolls 38, 39, 4|, 42, impression rolls 43, 44, having appropriate dies 45, 46 thereon, and printing roll 41. Rolls 34, 35,' 36 and 31 are mounted on stub shafts 48, 49, 5|, 52 on the arms 53, 54 of an oscillatabl yoke 55 fixed to shaft 56 which is journaled in housing 51. The movable rolls are all freely rotatable on the stub shafts.- Qn the other hand, rolls 38, 39 are fixed on shafts 58, 69, each having a toothed ratchet wheel 6| thereon adapted to be intermittently rotated by suitable pawls as indicated at 62. Rolls 4|, 42 are likewise fixed to shafts 63. 64 having secured thereto pinions 65, 66 meshing with gear 3| and adapted to be continuously rotated thereby. Printing roll 41 is secured to shaft 61 to whichis alsov keyed or star wheel 68, which is rotated by pin 68'. I

As will be seen from Fig. 4, arm 69 is connectedto shaft 56 preferably through a suitable yieldabl connection. Arm 69 carries a follower 1| adapted to ride on cam 21 so that the yoke will be oscillated in predetermined timed relation to intermittent rotation of the printing roll. Spring 12 tends to urge the follower toward the cam. Thus it will be apparent that rolls 34, first engage rolls 38, 39, after which the yoke swings to its other extreme so that rolls 34, 35 transfer ink to stationary rolls 4|, 42. In the position of the yoke rolls 5|, 52 engage rolls 4|, 42, while at the other extreme of oscillation they transfer" ink to the-die rolls 45, 46. It is to be understood that rolls 34, 35, 36, 31 and printing roll 41 are 2 covered with a y'ieldable sleeve of gelatin, rubber or similar material.

The film of ink taken up by rolls 33, 39 is controlled by gates 13, 14 of spring metal, the position of the edges of which may be adjusted by turning screws 13, 13.- ESuitable spreading rolls I1, 18 are mounted on shafts 1'9, 33, the latter being reciprocable to move the spreading rolls axially with respect to the stationary rolls. The means reciprocating the sprcaders includes a yoke 3| to which shafts 13, 83 are connected, cam 23 and follower 32. Springs 83, 34 "tend to urge the follower against its cam.

It is to be noted that the rolls 43, 44 are rotated by means of pinions 85 secured to these rolls and meshing with gear 33 secured to roll 41. The pitch circles of the pinions and gear correspond to the diameters oi their respective rolls, the gear ratio being 4 to 1. Hence, with each quarter turn 'of the roll 41 the die rolls turn through one complete revolution, thus making it possible for four transfers to be effected with each full revolution of roll 41. It is also by the swivel connection shown in Figs. 8 and to be noted that each of the die rolls 43, 44 has r associated therewith a friction disc 31 having a diameter commensurate .with that of the printing surface of the die, .these friction discs engaging similar friction discs 83 on rolls 38, 31.

Obviously, when the die rolls are rotated during engagement of the friction discs, the rolls 36, 31

will be driven by the die rolls. It is to be understood that the roll' carry g yoke 55 is swung to the left (Fig. 2) andthe rolls 36, 31 are in engagement with the dies atthat' periodwhen 35 tween gates 38 and 99, gate 39 is also raised and in the direction of roll 41 by spring I22 con- 1 the platen to roll the vial over the printing roll as the platen is lowered, it being understood that mechanism consists-chiefly of a suitable arrangement of gates which release the vials one at a time and means for urging and, rolling the vials urging and rolling arm 3| will be referred to hereinafter as a platen. Vials, indicated at 32,

are placed on an inclined shelf 33 having side guides 34, 33, the positions of which maybe adjusted laterally by screws 36 and nut 31. In this way the-vials are accurately centered on the shelf and fed to the printing roll in such a manner that the design will be transferred to the same relative position on each vial.; The means for releasing the vials one by one ,comprises a pair of pivoted gates 38, 33, so actuated that their oscillations are.opposite each other. This movement is obtained by securing the gates to shafts on which are pinions I III, I32 meshing with each other so that as one-rotates clockwise the other turns in an anti-clockwise direction and vice versa. Pivotally secured to gate, 33 is a connecting rod I33 passing through an aperture I33 in extension I34 of oscillatable lever I33 is spring III. Lever I33 is connected by link II2 with arm II 3, the latter being mounted. for 0scillation on shaft I I4 and having a, rigid connection with rocker arm II5 carrying cam follower I I3 thereon. The follower is urged into engagement with cam '23 by a spring I"; It is evi-. dent that cam 23 oscillates arm II3 which in I lowered but in a direction opposite that of gate 38. The depending fingers of the gates are spaced a distance slightlyless than the diameter of a vial. As the forward finger is elevated, the rearward finger is lowered to prevent the next vial on the shelf from rolling forward. If for any reason the gates are prevented from being oscillated by improper engagement with a vial, spring I will yield and take up pressure which wouldotherwise crush the vial.

The platen 3| is connected to extension I 34 9. It will be seen that a swivel block I I8 having a stub shaft H9 integral therewith is journaled in extension I34 for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis. The swivel block isapertured to receive a pin I2I at the upper end of the platen so that the latter is free to turn about a verticalaxis; By so swiveling the platen, it adjusts itself to irregularities in the-vial and properly engages the vials to rotate them as will be explained later. The platen is normally urged nected at one end to the platen and at its other end to, an adjustable arm I23 which may be swung about its fulcrum 'to vary the tension of the spring. Extension I34 may also be adjusted longitudinally with respect to lever III by means of a pin and slot connection indicated at I24.

As will be seen from Figs. 3 and 11, the for-' ward or vial engaging face I25 of the platen is concave so that the surface of the vial engaged by the platen is limited to substantially line contact by the edges of the platen. A suitable cover I23 of leather, rubber or similar material for the platenprovldes suflicient friction to enable the platen engages the vial and urges it with some degree of pressure into contact. with the printing roll. It is also obvious that cylindrical obj cts having a length less than the width of theplaten will be so engaged by the concave face of the platen that only the ends of the objects touch the platen. Here, also, there is only line contact, the longitudinal side surfaces of the ob- Ject being spaced from the platen. smearing of the transferred ink is-thus, inhibited.

Adjustablyfixed to the housing 31 is an abutment comprising a roller I21 on the laterally projecting rod I23 suitably secured to a block I23. The latter is slidably supported on a plurality of rods I3I and its position thereon may be adjusted by means of an adJusting screw I32. Intermediate the lower end of ,the platen and its-swivel is a cam piece I33 which projects beyond the forward face of the platen and which strikes roller I21 when the platen, is near the 'lower extremity of its vertical reciprocation to move the platen out of engagement with the vial. This camming action occursafter the design has been transferred to the vial and permits the vial to drop into a receptacle I34 to which further reference will be made hereinafter.

As will be seen in Figs. 2 and 7, the forward end of the shelf '33 is provided with a pivoted extension I35 normally held in alignment with the shelf by a spring hinge I33 with its forward edge in proximity to the roll 41. It will be evident, however, that the extension will yield when struck by the descending platen to permit the platen not only ,to be lowered but also to be swung away from the vial being printedas the cam I33 strikes roller I21. As the platen is elesprocket I45 is fixed to shaft I42. It will be seen that the diameters of sprockets I44 are less than that of sprocket I45. Chain I46 engages all of the sprockets I44, I45, so that they rotate in timed relation to each other.

The-means for driving the conveyor comprises a link I 41 connected at one end to lever H3 and at its other to pawl I48 arranged to intermittently rotate shaft I42 by means of .a ratchet I49 -theren.- Thus with each reciprocation of the platen 9! the sprockets are turned through a predetermined angle.

Each of the trays I34 comprises a plurality of transverse contiguous pockets or compartments II, the bottoms of which are formed from perforate or reticulate material I52 to provide for passage of air therethrough. Further, the bottoms are concave, as shown in section in Figs. 4

and 10, so that a cylindrical article lying thereon is supported by the bottom only at the ends of the article, as illustrated by the vial shown in V dotted lines in Fig. 4. The tray pockets are made up otcurved transverse dividing walls I53 and ends I54. The ends of the pockets are connected to a pair of parallel side plates I55 each of which is bent outwardly and then downwardly, as shown in Fig. 12. The bottom edge is then folded upon itself so that an inverted L-shaped flange having a reinforced lower edge is provided along each side of the tra'y. The lateral portion of these flanges is provided with spaced perforations I56 to form a rack engageable with sprocket I43. It is to be noted that the perforations are spaced a distance equal to that between the pockets and that sprocket I43 turns through an angle with each intermittent movement thereof sufii-' cient to move the tray a distance corresponding to that between the centers of two adjacent pockets. I

As will be seen in Fig. 4, drums I4I have a relatively smooth cylindrical surface upon which the lower turned edges of the sideplates rest. Flanges I51 on the drums prevent lateral displacement of the trays during their travel over the conveyor. While the surface of the drums is smooth, there is sufficient friction between the lower edges of the trays and the drums to move the trays upon rotation'of the drums. Thus the trays are carried toward sprocket I43 by the drums until the teethof sprocket I43 engage the rack portion of the tray sides. The tray is then given a step-by-step movement corresponding to the distance between the pockets of the trays. As stated hereinbefore, sprockets I44 are smaller than sprocket I45. Hence their angular velocity is greater than that of the drive sprocket I43. Trays carried by drums I4I will therefore move more rapidly than a tray being moved by sprocket I43. This arrangement permits the machine operator to place empty trays on the drums without regard to the spacing therebetween. At' the same time the empty trays on the drums, movr ing a greater distance than one engaged by the against the roll shaft.

drive sprocket, will catch up with the tray 1111- mediately under the platen. In this way succes sive trays are brought into end abuttin relation and a pocket is always disposed beneath the platen. Since the surface of the drums is smooth. relative sliding movement between the drums and tray which has caught up with another being driven by the sprocket is permitted.

Mounted onbracket I3Iare a pair of parallel rails I58, I58 spaced a distance substantially equal to that between the lower edges of the tray sides. Rail I58 is somewhat shorter than rail I58 to permit engagement of the drive sprocket with the tray. The rails support the trays and permit sliding movement thereof until they are removed by the machine operator. To prevent elevation of the tray while it is in engagement with the drive sprocket a yieldable abutment I59, shown in Fig. 12, is attached-to the bracket and overlies the rack portion of the tray near the drive sprocket."

It is sometimes necessary to adjust the various transfer rollers to insure proper contact thereof with the inking rollers. In Fig. 2 is illustrated 'means by which the yoke 55 may be adjusted,

" these means comprising a pair of screws I6I, I6I' abutting a projection I62 on sleeve I63, the latter being fixed to shaft 56. By loosening one screw and tightening the other, proper contact of the rolls may be effected. In Figs. 13 and 14 is shown adjusting means for varying the relation of individual rolls with respect to the yoke In this form of adjustment a plurality of screws I64 threaded in a boss I65 on the yoke bear It is evident that the cocentricity of the shaft axis may be varied by proper displacement of the screws so that the roll can be positioned to insure the desired contact of the roll with other rolls in the inking mechanism.

The operation of the machine will be apparent from the foregoing description thereof. Ink is supplied to the dies by the several inking rollers and the design, lettering, or other impression transferred to the large printing roll. As a vial is released and permitted to roll into engagement with the printing roll, the platen is lowered and urged into engagement with the vial, suflicient pressure being imposed on the vial to insure transfer of the design from the printing roll to the vial. At the same time the platen descends at such speed that rotation of the vial by the printing roll is permitted to provide for rolling contact therebetween without slippage. In this way the design is transferred without smearing of th ink. Further, the platen, having a concave face, engages only a narrow circumferential portion of the vial adjacent its ends so that not only is smearing obviated, but it is evident that the design may extend circumferentially around the vial substantially through 360. The platen is then cammed away from the vial, permitting the latter to drop into one of the tray compartments. The trays are moved intermittently and in such timed relation to the operation of the printing roll and platen that an empty compartment is presented beneath the platen with each descent thereof. The concave perforate bottoms of the trays insure proper support of the vials after the design has been printed thereon, there being no possibility of contact between the bottom and that portion of the vial having the design thereon. Since free passage of air through the bottom hastens drying of the ink, it is apparent rangement of parts, but is to be construed broadly 7 within the meaning of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine forprinting on cylindrical objects, a rotatable printing'roll, a platen for urging the objects into engagement with said roll,

said platen being concave in transverse cross section to form an object-contacting face, said face being arcuate from one longitudinal edge of the platen to the other longitudinal edge thereof, means for rotating said roll, and means for effecting longitudinal reciprocation of said platen.

2. In a machine for printing on cylindrical objects, a rotatable printing roll, a platen for urging the objects into engagement with said roll, means for rotating said roll, means for effecting longitudinal reciprocation of said platen, and a swivel connection between one end of said platen and the means for reciprocating the platen, said connection being pivoted on two axes, one of said axes being parallel to said printing roll, the other axis being parallel to the longitudinal edges of said platen..

3. In a machine for printing on cylindrical objects, a rotatable printing roll, a platen for urging the objects into engagement with said roll,

said platen being concave in transverse cross section to form an object-contacting face; said face being arcuate from one longitudinal edge of the platen to the other longitudinal edge thereof, means for rotating said roll, means for effecting longitudinal reciprocation of said platen, and a swivel connection between'one end of said platen and the means for reciprocating the platen, said connection being pivoted on two axes, one of said axes being parallel to said printing roll, the other axis being parallel to the iongitudinal edges of said platen.

4. In a machine for printing on cylindrical objects, a rotatable printing .roll, a platen for. urging the objects into engagement with said roll, means for rotating said roll, means for effecting longitudinal reciprocation of said platen, and means for swiveling one end of said platen to' said platen reciprocating means including two pivotal connections having their axes perpendicular to each other, one of said axes being parallel to said printing roll, the other axis being parallel to the longitudinal edges of said platen.

LUIGI MARZOCCHI. 

